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We are very excited and very proud to present you our first Tape Box, long in the making and finally ready. “Delineation” enfolds four tapes including Remixes and Reinterpretations of Midira tracks, starting from MD 001 Nadja & N over to MD 023 Architeuthis Rex.

Releasing music means friendship to us. Being friends with musicians and being friends of their music. Thinking about that strong connection, we asked our artists and friends if they would be interested in reworking tracks from the Midira catalogue. The results were overwhelming for us, so that we started working out a convenient compound, to assemble all those new tracks we´ve got back from the artists. We decided to give the tracks the space they need and made a box with 4 tapes featuring 13 tracks.

“Delineation” comes as a four tape box, bound by a heavy grey cardboard banderole with letterpressed artwork, which can be folded out. The letterpress artwork – made by letterpress77 – has a very cool visual and haptic appearance and the moon cutting has kind of a 3-D effect when you unfold it. The tapes are housed in handmade grey cardboard sleeves with four different die-cut artworks. The tapes come in a transparent orange colourway. Every tape features an inlay card, on 600g cardboard, pressed by four layers of paper, with an orange core. A supplemental fifth inlay card, with a black core, completes the credits.

Years after “Altar of Drone” thisqietarmy returns to Midira with his new album “Democracy Of Dust”. We are thrilled to present you this masterpiece that documents a very special output by Eric Quach, very oppositional to what you heard before on “Altar of Drone” and other classic tqa releases.

During his residency at the Dissenso Studio in Sao Paolo, while touring with Labirinto, he recorded some tracks using different synthesizers. Back home he added some guitar tracks to the synthesizer recordings and finalized the tracks. The result is an impressive mixture of electronic and drone sounds, refined with ambient layers and subliminal beats.

The album got mastered for vinyl by Brian Wenckebach at Electric Blue Studios in Brooklyn and it takes you on a journey through familiar tqa sounds to some surprisingly electronic tunes with massive walls of sound and beats, that make you wobble while listening. A perfect floating and beating synthiedrone trip.

So get your hands on the console and preorder your copy of this outstanding album by thisquietarmy.

“Democracy Of Dust” comes in an edition of 300 copies on 12inch vinyl with full colour printed labels and a full colour artwork showing Sao Paolo from the bird’s eye view, printed inside-out on the rough side of a 300g cardboard sleeve.

200 copies come in as a regular edition on black vinyl including download code and 100 copies come as a limited edition on transparent blue vinyl, also including a CD with the digital mastered version of the album.

Tracklist

A
Welcome To Mendacity
Post-Truth
Transhumanism
New Home Of Mind

B
The Harbinger
A World Without Power
Nobody´s Free Until Everyone´s Free

Tegh alias Shahin Entezami is an Iranian sound artist from Tehran, a modern city in the north of Iran with a population of about 16 million people in the whole area. Tehran is also the home of a very interesting and very active scene around electronic and ambient music. The scene is so active, that the involved people founded an organization called SET, bringing all kinds of artists and fans together to celebrate experimental music. You might know one of the more famous artists and curators Siavash Amini, so it´s time to introduce you to one more chief character: Shahin Entezami under his moniker Tegh.

Tegh already released a digital album via Inner Ocean Records and contributed some tracks to some great compilations including the awesome Futuresequence Compilations.

“Downfall” is a masterpiece, which caught our hearts and minds after listening to the first sounds. The album is divided into five tracks based on electronic sounds with a perfectly executed balance between noise and melodic elements. There is an approach to the sound that is comparable to that of Tim Hecker, but with a more melancholic expression. Tegh establishes his very own space in the world of noisy ambient music and leaves a trail that is worth to be followed.

Tegh started working on “Downfall” after he saw a photograph of a boy falling out of a flying airplane. It´s a true story published by the evening independent in the year 1970 after the amateur photographer John Gilpin was shooting airplanes and caught the image of a stowaway boy falling out of the wheel housing. A horrible way to leave life. It´s not imaginable what this little boy must have felt during the downfall. Tegh tried to catch his feelings about that by writing the five tracks of “Downfall”.

“Downfall” comes as a gatefold digisleeve with matt lamination in an edition of 180 copies. The album was mastered by Andreas Brinke ( [ B O L T ] / Birken). The artwork was made by Katharina Woltering by using photographs of Tissika.

Janek Sprachta is a Berlin based multiinstrumentalist, known for his drum works in the band Siva., in which he and Nils Frahm were playing together. Three years ago Sprachta released his first solo album, mastered by his bandmade and friend Nils Frahm.

After some years of experience in making music Sprachta recorded his second soloalbum called “Grow”. A little masterpiece that merges sounds from ambient, modern classic, post-rock and electronic music into a 40minutes soundjourney. Sprachta plays drums, guitar, piano and some other instruments creating his very own one-man-orchestra of experimental sounds (except of some cello sounds, played by Rahel Pötsch). Starting from fragile and quiet piano movements and ending up in a massive loud post-rockish soundwall.

“Grow” is one of the most not-drone-at-all albums of the Midira roster, but its mood fits perfectly into the soundcosmos of the label. The album sounds the best with a good portion of bass and middle volume on your hi-fi system, so it will take you on a smooth and warm soundtrip full of surprises.

Janek Sprachta will premiere the live version of “Grow” at the Moving Noises Festival in Bochum on 04.02.2017.

“Grow” comes as a 12inch vinyl. All white vinyl with printed labels, housed in a handmade silkscreenprinted gray cardboard sleeve including a coloured inlay. Limited to 100 copies.

After their two unnamed full length albums known under the moniker of „dead rabbit“ and „dead squirrel” N + [ B O L T ] now return with their new unnamed Lathe Cut / CD EP which we lovingly call “dead mouse”.

The record contains one track by N on side A and one by [ B O L T ] on side B. So, is it a split? Well, YES if you just listen to the lathe cut tracks and NO if you look at the whole concept:

N + [ B O L T ] recorded two blackmetallish drone tracks with the same length, intended to be played simultaneously. To experience the maximum listening pleasure, you have to listen to the lathe cut and to the CD at once and at this point it´s not a split but a surround sound collaboration.

For those of you, who do not have the chance to listen to both tracks simultaneously, we added a mix of both tracks as a bonus track on the CD. But trust us, it´s not the same experience.

You can stream the mixed version right here:

And just to share our experience with this record, here are nine different ways to listen to it:

N “5.23” 33rpm lathe version

[ B O L T ] “5.23” 33rpm lathe version

N “5.23” 45rpm lathe version

[ B O L T ] “5.23” 45rpm lathe version

N “5.23” CD version

[ B O L T ] CD version

N + [ B O L T ] CD version

N + [ B O L T ] CD version + N lathe version

N + [ B O L T ] CD version + [ B O L T ] lathe version

There is no hint on the lathe cut about side A/B or 33/45 rpm. Experience it for yourself.

The record comes as a wonderful all ultra clear (no labels) 7inch lathe cut, limited to 30 copies, cutted by Peter King (NZ), housed in a heavy sleeve made of 400g chromoduplex grey/white cardboard, printed inside out and handfolded by the band. Additional to this, the package contains a full colour printed CD-R with the tracks in a different mastered version plus a mix of both tracks as a bonus track.

Please note: Lathe cuts do not have the same sound like vinyl records and need to be cleaned carefully to get the best sound results. We cannot give you a guarantee that you will not hear any scratching noises. But that´s the fascinating thing about records made by cutting the music into a piece of plastic. Anyway, we love the sound of N + [ B O L T ] via a lathe cut record and the result sounds amazing.

The Athenian musician Nikos Fokas comes from a country that is known for sunny beaches and ancient temples, but his heart beats more for cold and wet places. Krassin, the first russian icebreaker, as a symbol for his musical journey, brings you to this places far beyond your imagination.

“The Eternal Creak of the Icebreaker” is the most ambitious release in our roster, bringing different kind of styles and musicians together into an experimental story of music composed around a dream of the greek experimental musician Nikos Fokas. The album contains 10 tracks including over 70minutes of ambient sounds graced with some very jazzy moments and haunting guest vocals.

While Fokas started the recordings for his album, he dreamed of being at the bottom of a dark sea, covered with ice. The only thing that was interrupting the illuminated stillness was the creak of a icebreaker. The 10 tracks of the album correspond to the ten spheres of the Tree of Life as the voyage of Krassin the icebreaker is a symbolic gradual passage from one sphere to the other. And that is exactly what you can hear on the album: Illuminated stillness with creaking sounds and some jazz moments like the unique “folly land” or “Krassin” surprising with female vocals, that puts you out of the dark silent sea of minimal ambient sounds.

The artwork corresponds to the dream of Fokas featuring the Cabalistic tree as an allegoric light, like that of an icebreaker, creaking through the ice of a dark sea.

The album comes as a 4panel digisleeve CD with matt finish, including a full coloured inlay with all credits and lyrics.

We are very pleased to release the new album by Zenjungle, as a follow up to his critically acclaimed Tape “Flow”. “We Are Not Here” picks up the mood of “Flow” with floating sounds from different kind of instruments, melting together into a river of drone, ambient and dark jazz.

Zenjungle aka Phil Gardelis from Athens (Greece) builds his soundscapes with electric guitars, field recordings, synths and his tenor saxophone giving the distinctive note to the sound universe of Zenjungle. This time also with guest musician Drombeg giving some string sounds to complete the floating soundjourney.

“We Are Not Here” synonymously stands for a moment in which you are not able to react, like the moment when you see that a house is burning and you know that your home will be destroyed by the fire. Juxtaposed to this very dark allegory the sound of the album is not fully dark, obversely it is mostly very open and lightful, depending on the mood of the listener. This is also a detail that we tried to devolve into the artwork of the album.

“We Are Not Here” comes as a CD in a 4 panel digisleeve with matt finish, limited to 200 copies.

The Italian doom duo Architeuthis Rex (Antonio Gallucci & Francesca Marongiu) is returning with their third full length album and their first vinyl release: “Stilbon Is Dead”.

After an intense journey through different variation of doom music in the last half decade, Architeuthis Rex return with their very own version of doom. “Stilbon is Dead” is their most concentrated batch of impulsive sounds, breaking out of your speakers. It´s just a few seconds warning footstep field recordings at the beginning of the album, if you overstep this moment you will find yourself in a doom cave with accentuated guitars, beautiful siren vocals, unseizable synthiesounds and very erratic drums.

Speaking of drums, this album is the first release including drums by the new third bandmember Francesco Gregoretti. And speaking of other musicians, Architeuthis Rex asked their friend Terence Hannum (Locrian) to do some vocals for “Almagest”. The result is a haunting track with locrian-ish vocals.

Listen to “Atol”:

“Stilbon Is Dead” has been largely inspired by the idea of “gleaminess”, as spoken in the Ancient Greek Mythology, referred to one of the aspects of Planet Mercury. The Greeks could see Mercury in the morning and at dusk. In the 8th century B.C., they thought that it was two different planets, so they gave it two names: Stilbon, “the gleaming”, as the Morning Star, and Hermaon, the Evening Star. Lately, probably thanks to Pythagoras, they realized that both Stilbon and Hermaon were the same planet, and they called it Hermes, the Greek name for Planet Mercury.

The idea of a dead Stilbon symbolizes both the concept of darkness and gleaminess, which can be traced in the metallic light of the world in the Antropocene Era. This light can also be a glare of the ancestral origins of the Universe and the Earth, when science and mythology were melted. Alchemy and sci-fi have always been major interests to Architeuthis Rex, so this is a way to connect James Ballard with Pythagoras, Ursula K. Le Guin with Robert Fludd, all encompassed in an overflowing, gloom and gleamy present.

Well, looking on this concept of music, alchemy and sci-fi, we had to find a package for the album. The band discovered the work of artist Christopher Colville and his series “Work of Fire” fits perfectly. This works are a perfect allegorical image of what the band created with “Stilbon Is Dead”. The result will impress you.

“Stilbon Is Dead” comes in an edition of 300 copies on swamp green 12inch vinyl, housed in matt outersleeve containing the artwork of Christopher Colville. The LP comes with a download code including a different master of the album and a bonus track.

First 50 preorders will get a CD including the digital master of the album, plus a bonus track.

We are very pleased to introduce you the german instrumental trio Unland. Unland are Jonas Meyer (piano/fx), Christian Grothe (guitar/fx/sampler) and Shabnam Pavaresh (clarinet). They came together to create improvised landscapes and the result is an epic marriage of drone and modern classic sounds.

“Die Ruhe nach dem Sturm” (The Silence After The Storm) contains four pieces that crave your attention. The tracks are diving into a world of dark landscapes apparently without any sense of hope, but than a glimpse of light breaks through, just to dive back again into darkness. The trio has a very detailed sense for timing and moods, which makes the epic tracks sound narrative.

Have a listen and dive into the world of Unland:

The CD comes in a thick matt 4panel digisleeve and is limited to 200 copies. 50 of them are housed in a special package including a second CD containing the debut EP by Unland.

Three years ago ninemiles released his debut album “Grímsey” as a reflection of his journey to the island with the same name. After releasing several tracks from the Grímsey recording session, ninemiles returns now with his sophomore album “objects of identical weight and semblance”.

The album features seven tracks that are moving in the dark interspaces of ambient, drone and noise. All starts very calm with “tangential” and than the sound turns very raw in “diversification: noise isolation”, just to be more silent again in “less”. You can also discover a kind of drone melody in tracks like “quadrille paper”. And when you think, you identified a certain musical style “(8(10)” and “invisible curtains” are creeping into your ears with noise and electronic beats, just to dissolve into “inverted”, a massive and epic drone track, that also could be a part of a David Lynch soundtrack. Listen:

This album is kind of a darker version of “Grímsey”, but also much more warmer and sophisticated as the debut album. The album is mixed by the other half of [ B O L T ]: Andreas Brinke aka Bordunoise, what makes this piece of music also somehow a stripped version of [ B O L T ], without bass guitars.

“objects of identical weight and semblance” comes in a very limited edition of 50 copies on blue tape housed in a marine blue cardboard sleeve with two different innersleeves made of handmade and handprinted japanese paper provided by Pulp Papier (managed by Leah Buckareff from Nadja). The cardboard sleeves are handmade and feature a silver ink stamp design on the outside and stamped credits on the inside. All tapes include a download code.